Retirement

Bankrate.com's survey of American's financial security shows one troubling trend:  29 percent of workers are saving less for retirement than a year ago. This at a time when 47 percent of workers are less comfortable about their savings than a year ago. You would hope that if financial security is growing, workers would salt away more for an uncertain future, even if it's only in an account with no volatility such as a savings account....

Anthony Allen's first emotion was disappointment. He had grown up idolizing Ricky Williams . As a high school running back from Florida, Allen watched Williams' every move during his time with the Miami Dolphins. One of the best parts about Allen's rookie season, one in which his opportunities were essentially confined to practice, was just being around Williams on a daily basis. Allen is going to miss that, even though Williams' surprise retirement earlier this offseason could lead to exactly what the running back has been seeking: an opportunity to occupy a key role with the Ravens as Ray Rice's primary backup.

With the first pick of Wednesday's Major League Lacrosse supplemental draft, the Rochester Rattlers selected former Baltimore Bayhawk Mark Millon, who will come out of retirement to return to the league after a five-season absence. A member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and widely considered one of the greatest players in lacrosse history, Millon will turn 42 in May. He was the league's Offensive Player of the Year in 2002 and 2003, as well as the Most Valuable Player in 2005, and won the league championship with the Bayhawks in 2002.

Although many people wonder about accepting early retirement, the question is a highly personal one. National Business Employment Weekly, dated today, runs a helpful story on the topic. Excerpts: "Retirement planning must begin at least 10 years in advance. . . . Be sure you have hobbies and other leisure interests. . . . Work is the essence of life. . . . Six months of daily golf got boring. . . . My wife didn't want me in the kitchen or her garden." And here's a shocker: "Historically, people have died not many years following retirement."

THE OLDEST baby boomers turn 56 this year, and for this age-defiant generation that means retirement is no longer far off. Some money experts say boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, will enjoy a financially better retirement than today's retirees. Others, noting surveys of dismal savings among boomers, are less optimistic. But one thing they do agree on: Boomers' retirement won't be their parents' retirement. "They redefined everything. It's safe to say they will redefine retirement, too," said Clare Hushbeck, a labor economist with AARP in Washington.

Mario Lemieux has surprised us before. In 1995, he came back from cancer to regain his status as hockey's most scintillating scorer. In 2000, he returned from a three-year retirement (he had already been elected to the Hall of Fame) to lead Pittsburgh back to the NHL playoffs. He was the Michael Jordan of hockey, one whose skills seemed so sublime that no barrier could hold him back. But Lemieux sounded out of surprises when he announced his second retirement yesterday afternoon. He said he could no longer play to his own standards and called the NHL "a league for young guys."

Like Ed Reed, Matt Birk has a decision to make about his future with the Ravens. And like the free safety, the 15-year center declined to say whether he envisioned playing out the final two years of his contract. “I don't know,” he said. “I'm worried about what I'm going to eat at dinner tonight. I don't make any decision until I have to. That's my motto.” Birk, 36, made his 113th consecutive start in Sunday's 24-9 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Wildcard playoff round.

Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc., which has an office in Bel Air, has established a toll-free telephone number for information about cash distributions of employee retirement money.The number is 800-822-5544.The securities brokerage firm estimates that $22.5 billion is due for lump sum distribution to retiring and otherwise separated U.S. employees in fourth quarter 1990.

You can work, shop and fall in love online. Now many people are retiring there, too. Thousands of federal employees are becoming eligible to initiate their retirement from the government online, and many private employers are already there, employee benefits experts said. Nearly half of private employers, 49 percent, allowed workers to start their final retirement distributions via an Internet site at the end of 2006, up from a quarter of employers in 2001, said David Wray, president of the Profit Sharing/401(k)

John M. "Jack" Lemmon, managing editor of The Evening Su for the past 12 years, announced his retirement yesterday.Though Mr. Lemmon, 63, gave his official retirement date as Dec. 31, he said yesterday that "as a practical matter, today is my last day."During his tenure as the newspaper's top news executive, The Evening Sun received numerous awards, including a Pulitzer Prize."I think we had some good times. This was a happy place to work. Most of us enjoyed doing what we did," he said. "One of the most exciting things was a good story, having something in the paper that you're proud of."